12 Years Later, a Look Back at Dan Rather’s Final ‘CBS Evening News’ Broadcast
For 24 years, Dan Rather anchored the CBS Evening News, the longest tenure of any evening news anchor in American television history. And on this day, March 9, in 2005, he said good night one final time.
The Texas-born journalist began his career in 1950 working for the Associated Press in Huntsville. In 1963, he was in Dallas on that fateful November day when President John F. Kennedy was shot. He claims to be the first person to have seen the Zapruder film, which he explained in great detail for CBS’ Dallas affiliate, KRLD.
As CBS’ White House correspondent, Rather received criticism for what some perceived as biased coverage of President Nixon, which led to a tense encounter in 1974. When the crowd applauded and jeered after Rather introduced himself, Nixon asked, “Are you running for something?” Rather replied, “No sir, Mr. President. Are you?”
On March 9, 1981, Rather replaced the legendary Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News, the position he’d hold for exactly 24 years. From this highly visible, venerable position, he advocated for speaking truth to power and above all else, “courage” in journalism, a word with which he’d often end his broadcasts.
Since his retirement in 2005, Rather has been busy penning books, such as his upcoming What Unites Us, a collection of essays on patriotism; making appearances on various broadcasts; and running the independent production company News and Guts, which he launched in 2015 with The Big Interview.
Today, we salute you, Mr. Rather, and we end this broadcast with a word you taught us the meaning of: Courage.
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